Now that an appellate court has reversed more than half of a $310 million judgment against Mattel, Bratz doll manufacturer MGA Entertainment, its insurers, and its former law firm are fighting over the leftovers.

A New York state appellate court has clamped down on an attempt by a group of hedge funds to get around the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison decision. Reversing a lower court ruling, the appellate panel found that the hedge funds were barred from suing Porsche AG because neither the defendant nor most of the plaintiffs are New York state residents. The litigation was sparked by Porsche's 2008 announcement that it had amassed close to a 75 percent stake in Volkswagen, which was a disaster for hedge funds that had shorted VW's stock or made swap deals based on its share price.

Government lawyers sought Tuesday to put hundreds—if not thousands—of civil cases on hold, while regulatory agencies went dark and more than 1,000 Department of Justice lawyers across the country stayed home without pay.

Standards-essential FRAND patents were big news over the past week, as was litigation over Google's moneymaker AdWords. Plus, looking ahead to Supreme Court arguments in a case over sneakers that could leave a big footprint in patent and trademark law.

With legal battles forcing JPMorgan Chase & Co. to set aside an eye-popping $23 billion for litigation costs, several Am Law 100 firms are reaping hefty legal fees for their work representing the bank, including Sullivan & Cromwell, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.

The waning days of September brought the end to a slew of big patent cases involving R.J. Reynolds, Freddie Mac, LG, and others, with Verizon alone agreeing to pay more than $500 million to put two separate infringement suits to rest.

A four-judge majority found no reason to meddle with New York's long-established interpretation of the in pari delicto doctrine.